Secrets
by goldensacrifice
Summary: What if sonea knew more than she let on? What if the high lord was not her first encounter with black magic? Set just after the end of the novice.
1. Chapter 1

_She noticed the door was slightly ajar that was when the alarm bells started ringing, never was the door left open. Her heart sped up as fear slowly seeped its way through her body. Cautiously she removed the knife she kept in her boot, gently nudging the door open. Nothing, creeping round the corner of the living area she felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end. Taking a step towards the bedroom door the smell hit her nose, rust and salt, another step forward nearly sent her flying as the surface slipped beneath her feet. Looking down she saw the blood pooling from under the door. Heart pounding wildly she push the door open. A blood curdling scream ripped from between her lips._

Sonea sat bolt up right panting wildly a slight ringing in her ears. Judging by the rawness in her throat the screaming had not just been in her dreams. The sheets were a mess down the bottom of the bed and several of the pillows lay on the floor. She raised her hand shakily and wiped away the stray tears that only just now she had noticed trickling down her face.

Half an hour later the sun glided over her window sill bathing her now tearless face in sunlight. Sighing Sonea closed her eyes letting the suns rays warm her cold skin. Id better get ready wouldn't want the Highlords novice to be late for class. Sliding off the bed her hand absentmindedly grazed the necklace around her throat. She set off for the baths trying to push the thoughts of the night out of her mind.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

I walked down the university corridors the sound of my boots hitting the floor echoing loudly in the silence. Lady Vinara had kept me back for an hour in the herd garden, Id then proceeded to go to the library to help out with the books. Though it could not have been past six in the evening the windows that I passed showed that the sun had all ready set throwing the world into darkness.

The high lord had not greeted me as he always did last night; instead Takan had greeted me and politely informed me that the high lord was busy and that I was to have dinner in my room. His absence could be for perfectly innocent reasons but then again my mind could not help but go down other darker reasons that could have caused his absence.

I turned sharply round the corner not paying attention to my surroundings and crashed straight into something, causing me to stagger backwards. Someone grabbed onto my arms steadying me, my eyes snapped up and the beginnings of my shield faded away as looked back into the shocked expression of my former guardian Rothen. He gently let go of my arms.

"Rothen," was the only eligible thing I could manage.

He had changed since I last saw him. There seemed to be more frown lines on his face and less smile ones. His face had a greyer look to it, his hair less well kept and his blue eyes usually so alive and intelligent now held a slight dullness to them. He looked so; I stumbled for a word in my head. Well he looked so, old.

"Sonea," he murmured looking around anxiously before returning his gaze to mine.

"How are you?" I whispered, the high lords warning suddenly flashed into my mind and I became as nervous as him.

"How am I, don't worry about me im fine, how are you Sonea, you're the one who's stuck in his house." his voice turned to a hiss towards the end.

"Im fine, it's really not that bad honestly I don't see him that much, apart form when I come in, he seems to spend the rest of the time in his office." I smiled slightly trying to reassure him.

"You would tell me if something was wrong wouldn't you, cause…

"Stop worrying Rothen Im ok, anyway the high lord would never dare hurt me, how would he explain that to the guild." I looked at him earnestly willing him to believe what I said even if I did not. After a couple of seconds his eyes seemed to lighten slightly and a small smile appeared on his lips but quickly disappeared at the sound of approaching foot steps.

Hurriedly Rothen whispered "take care Sonea," before quickly giving me a hug, then turned and walked away. Seconds later lord Balkan whirled around the other end of the corridor his red robes swaying dramatically around him.

As he pasted I gave a quick bow, then turned and headed for the high lords residence.

The door as usual swung open as I brushed my knuckles against the door. I stepped through the door my eyes landing on the brooding figure of the high lord before I bowed.

"High lord."

He rose from his chair and glided across the room, his long pale fingers curled around the neck of a bottle of wine before filling his glass. No reply. Taking that as my signal to leave I headed towards the stairs.

"Sonea," the high lord's voice came from behind me.

I turned on the second step lifting my eyes to meet the piercing black ones that watched me like a hawk its prey.

'Yes high lord," my voice came out barley above a whisper and I felt anger flow through me at how weak and helpless I sounded. Squaring my shoulders I looked at him more directly.

He lip's curled slightly before he took a small sip from the dark, red liquid in his glass.

"How was your conversation with Rothen?" he asked

I froze my eyes widening in shock.

"Well," he inquired raising one eyebrow slightly.

I open and closed my mouth several times spluttering most likely looking like a fish in the process.

His expression darkened slightly "I make these rules for a reason Sonea and I do not appreciate it when you break them, do not do it again."

All I could do was bow my head and mutter "yes high lord," before making a hasty retreat to my room.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Had I been too harsh? That thought over the past hours had repeatedly swirled through my mind. I had known the answer as soon as it had arisen just after Sonea had made her hasty retreat to her room. Yes I had been too harsh. Not that I'll admit that out loud, no matter how many disapproving thoughts Takan repeats, knowing full well that I can hear him through the blood ring. So let's just say that im her guardian, she is my novice, she broke the rules that I had set down and I was merely reminding her not to do that. Rubbish. I just have too much pride to admit that it was I who was in the wrong for reacting like I did.

Sighing I place my now empty glass on the side table before rising.

Takan turned "Is there anything else I can get you master." ignoring the irritating use of the word master, that he persisted in using instead of high lord, I glanced over at him. His clothes where slightly wrinkled and the beginnings of dark circles under his eyes betray his tiredness, though he showed no other sign of it.

"No Takan, now do your self a favour a go and get some rest."

Takan smiled slightly before bowing and leaving the room through one of the side doors. I turned plucking the book I had been reading earlier that morning off the table and started to ascend the stairs.

I was half way across the upstairs landing when I heard a muffled scream from Sonea's room. My head whipped to the side where her door was located as I created a strong shield around myself, I dropped the book before swiftly but quietly advancing. Cautiously placing my hand on the door handle I sent my mind inwards scanning Sonea's room for any potential fret. There was nothing out of the ordinary and the only magical source was Sonea herself, who's power took the form of a steady, pulsing, silver globe. I felt my body relax slightly as my eyes opened but I was by no means at ease. Twisting the small iron handle I pushed the oak door open, my shield still strong around me. What I saw made my heart twist in concern.

Sonea was sprawled on her bed the covers had gotten caught up in her legs and the pillows where spread all over the place. Her dark usually tidy hair was a mess, some of the strands were sticking to her pale face which was covered in a small sheen of sweat. Her expression was contorted in a display of pain and anguish. As I watched she let out a small whimper and her body curled as best it could into a defensive ball. I let the shield I had been holding disintegrate from around my body and took a couple of steps towards her before stopping. Uncertainty coursed through me as the feeling that I was invading in on a very private moment came to thought. Not sure of what she would find worse, continuing through the nightmare or being woken up from one by her guardian. Being woken up by me. An unexpected surge of envy towards Rothen overtook me. I envied Rothen's and Sonea's relationship, that she was able to trust in Rothen but not me and the fact that if she did she could end up getting hurt. It's not right, I should be able to protect her with no doubt, do as simple a thing as wake her from a nightmare and comfort her without making things worse as Rothen would be able to do.

Another small whimper brought my attention back to the bed where Sonea lay. She was still in the same position my thoughts had taken all but a few seconds. The nightmare seems to be getting worse. Turning quickly I headed back towards the door.

"High lord."

I froze, turning my head I meet the wide eyes of my novice.


	4. Chapter 4

_Burning, my lungs were on fire, sharp gasps ripping from my chest as I struggled to keep going. My limbs seem to become more like lead with every step I took, muscles screaming in protest. The twist and turns of the slums flashed past as I ran. Shadows that had once embraced me into their darkness, hiding me from the world, now turned against me contorting into figures that weren't there, throwing me off balance._

_I paused, back pressed against the wall of an alley, my body trembling with exertion. Straining my ears I tried to hear the sound of any approaching footsteps. Nothing. After a couple more seconds I cautiously made my way out from my hiding place, stealthily jumping over a small wall that dropped on the over side into an adjoining path, the one I hoped would lead to Cery's latest hideout, he would help me. A stinging pain ran down my arm seconds before a hand clamped over my mouth, stilling the scream that rose when a body smashed into mine. Panic clouded my every thought as I tried to struggle, only to find that my body was not responding. A strange tranquillity consumed me and with it the realisation that I was getting weaker. My eyelids drooped as darkness started to consume me, the only thing I was aware of being his hand wrapped around my arm._

_I was brought back from my calmness when my head suddenly came into contact with the rugged ground, stars bursting before my eyes as they flashed open. Quickly recovering I looked around in panic to see the back of my assailant a couple of feet away. He'd let go, why? A blinding flash of light heading towards the man answered my question; I hurriedly threw my hands up in front of my face cringing away, magician. Blinking rapidly I lowered my arms expecting to see my assailant dead on the ground, instead he stood perfectly still in the exact same place completely unaffected. Magicians, I corrected myself. Scrambling quickly backwards I became dizzy with fear as another flash of light emanated from one of the magicians. Pulling myself behind a nearby broken stack of wooden boxes I peered through the cracks, watching as the magicians fought. A boom resounded around the area as a repelled strike exploded against the wall near me, filling the air with chocking clouds of dust. I flinched, body shaking as more strikes crashed into the surrounding area, small involuntary whimpers escaping me as I curled into as tiny a ball as possible, shielding myself from stray bits of falling debris, praying as the minutes went by that the next one would not hit me._

_Silence, slowly I opened my eyes hesitantly shifting into a sitting position and peered though the cracks. My breath caught as I look at the scene before me. A dark shadow griped my assailant's neck with long pale fingers, looking down into the man's bewildered and panicked eyes before letting go. My eyes travelled down, locking onto my assailant's face which had fallen into a patch of moon light. Golden skin and light brown hair framed the man's eyes, but the dark green that I looked into did not look back, instead staring emptily into nothingness. He was dead. Looking down I saw a small cut on his throat not deep enough to kill, my hand slid down to my own arm tracing the shallow, thin cut that ran down its length, only just becoming aware of it. I ripped my eyes away from my assailant's, looking at my fingers that were now coated in a slight layer of blood. _

_I whipped my head to the side as I heard footsteps approaching; the man in shadows was coming in my direction. My heart pounded painfully fast as I crawled backwards into the safety of the darkness that the boxes provided. He stopped; piercing black eyes in a pale white face swept the area, a slight frown on his brow. Sighing he whirled around black robes billowing, a small inclin on his sleeve glinted in the moonlight._

Blinking, my eyes zeroed in on the figure hurriedly making its way towards the door. Fear from the nightmare transferred into real life and for a second I couldn't breathe, shock rapidly overtook the fear as I recognised the figure.

"High lord," I gasped sitting up hastily.

His back stiffened, stopping in his tracks before turning his head, eyes locking with mine. His face looked as shocked as I felt but it was rapidly replaced with his normal unreadable mask. We stared at each other, my cheeks abruptly flushing bright red in embarrassment as my mind caught up to the situation, he was in my bed chambers and I was only in my thin night gown. Hastily I pulled the covers up to cover myself.

"What are you doing in my room?" my voice came out in a high squeak, the flush on my face darkening several shades.

His gaze remained steady as he studied me for a moment "I came to inform you that tomorrow you will have an extra warrior's class with lord Yikmo."

"Oh," was my genius reply, eyes dropping to my lap.

"Im sorry that I disturbed you; I was not aware it was so late, goodnight Sonea."

I looked up just in time to see him open the door and disappear behind it.

"Goodnight," I whispered, letting myself fall back onto the bed, sighing. My eyes started to drift shut again, cheeks cooling, body relaxing as I rolled onto my side. Suddenly I gasped, mortification flooding though me with the realisation that the High lord would have been there when I was having my nightmare.

"No," I groaned hands covering my face as it flushed red again. Could this night get anymore humiliating? Slowly letting out the breath I had been holding I let my hands slid from my face. Sleep; if I sleep I won't have to think about it. Closing my eyes I willed the darkness to take me into the world of dreams.


	5. Chapter 5

It was the first day in weeks that the sun had finally broken through the thick, grey, blanket of winter clouds covering the sky's above Imardin. The rain, hail and occasionally snow that had been pelting the city more and more as the peak of winter drew closer had vanished. The soft rays of sunlight quickly melted the thick layer of frost which had covered every surface in sight, making it look like someone had come along and sprinkled the entire city with a dusting of glitter.

All around people came out their homes, or wherever they had been seeking refuge, to make the most of the change in weather. Despite the slight chill that still remained markets quickly sprung up, the calls of market traders trying to sell their goods rang loud above the noise of the people who had quickly filled the streets, laughing and sharing gossip. Friends and families who had not been able to get into contact with each other because of the weather, shared the latest information about their lives and the goings on in the city with smiles on their faces.

This elated mood was no exception to the guild. Everyone seemed brighter, especially the novices, who where now able to go out and break the tedious routine that had become their day. Trudging from class to dorm and back again was not exactly the height of entertainment for the young adults. The gardens which before had be vacant, only seldom having a brave magician use them as a last resort to get to another destination, where now full to the brim with novices and their teachers. They hung around in groups just like everyone else in the city talking and laughing, trying to soak up as much sun as was possible before their noon break ended and they had to go back to lessons.

I was just like everyone else; the break in the depressing weather was refreshing and had raised my spirits. Unfortunately the gardens which would have been my preferred retreat to take full advantage of the weather, were now to crowded for my liking. As I glanced sideways I caught the eyes of Regin, he was laughing at something one of the many novices gathered around him had said. Though as soon as he registered who I was his laugh faltered and died away, before he swiftly turned his attention to something else. At his unexpected drop in humour the rest of the group looked the way he had, upon seeing me most quickly looked away like Regin, but a few smiled tentatively at me. Giving them a small smile in return I quickly turned away and continued on my way.

Soon I reached the edge of the forest and started trekking my way through the undergrowth. As I walked I let my thoughts drift and be absorbed by my surroundings. The guild had planted the forest with trees that kept their leaves through out the winter months, most likely because it would look better, but a few different trees had crept in where the wind had blown the seeds in. So every now and then I would come across a bare patch, the ground covered in dead leaves and towering trees, their branches bare. Then just as soon as these patches would appear, they would be gone replaced instead by a canopy of green. Thousands of tiny rays of sunlight shined down through the leaves, flickering across the ground.

Frequently stray patches of ice that hadn't yet been reached by the sun would catch me off guard, id find myself slipping and having to grab onto near by trees for support. Id hidden my sturdy wooden box under a near by bush before starting on the more difficult, rocky part of my journey where I would need both of my hands. It didn't take long for me to reach the clearing after that. Soon I was settled down, leaning back against one of the many boulders that surrounded the stream.

The sound of the water trickling beside me helped me to relax, the light wind cool against my skin and the grass beneath me felt slightly damp as it brushed against the skin of my hands. The circle of trees surrounding the clearing did not make me fell claustrophobic, instead rather safe, almost as if these towering giants where protecting me from the outside world and giving me a safe little haven where I could be at peace. As I tilted my head back I saw the shape of a bird flying high in the sky. I watched as it swirled in complex aerobatic movements with no worries. Why couldn't my life be so careless, so peaceful and full of such freedom? My eyes shifted to note the position of the sun, most of the novices would be going back to their classes around about now. I smiled, glad that of all days today I had a free lesson now.

As the minutes drifted my thoughts turned back to the encounter with Regin and his friends earlier. That was one positive, every since the battle in the arena he had kept his distance, no more snide comments, no more tricks or jokes at my expense. Most of the other novices tended to just ignore me, but a few would try to start a conversation with me and as the weeks went by their numbers seemed to grow. I wouldn't go as far as to say that they still didn't see me as different but as they became more accepting I have started to fit in more. Though whether I fitted in with the novices or not really was not one of my main worries at the moment. Last night's nightmare came to mind and with it the reminder of a certain witness. Things were definitely going to be more awkward now, or at least for me. Pushing those thoughts away I tried to make myself relax again.

No such luck, the light object that rested on my chest seemed to became gradually more heavy as time went by, demanding my attention. I looked down at the necklace bound to my neck by a thin, black leather strap, the necklace that I wore constantly. A delicate, intricately made black rose hung at the end. It was made out of a rare diamond that when heated to an exact temperature changed to black. Connecting the rose to the leather was a gold clasp, which then spread, wrapping round the outer petals in elaborate golden symbols.

Slowly twisting it between my fingers, I observed how the depths of it seemed to go on endlessly, how it was made up of so many fractures that seemed to smooth into one, like wisps of black smoke coiling round each other in an never ending dance. Enchanted I tried to follow just one of the many thousand of twisting paths, an impossible task. A sudden whoosh of air brought me sharply out of my trance. Dropping the pendant back underneath my brown robes, I looked up to see small, intelligent, golden eyes staring back at me from the face of a bird.

Its head tilted to the side inquisitively as we stared at each other. The bird ruffled its coal black feathers as its agile body hopped a step closer to me. Its small, sharp curved beak opened and let out a squawk that was so out of place in my tranquil sanctuary. Though I could clearly tell it was going to do that I still jumped at the noise. The bird took another hop forward, its sharp talons clinking against the rock under its feet. As I looked at it more closely a gasp of recognition escaped me, my eyes widened in shock and I lent away from the bird.

A snap of a twig from behind made me whirl around, quickly getting to my feet, heart pounding rapidly in my chest. A dark shadow moved in amongst the trees before vanishing. My eyes scoured the trees, narrowing as I tried to detect even the slightest sign of movement, there was none. Glancing back over my shoulder I saw that the bird as I expected was indeed gone, leaving no trace that it had ever been there.

"Sonea."

I turned shapely towards the sound of my name just as something solid collided with me, knocking me to the ground. A whirl of fire red hair flashed across my vision.


	6. Chapter 6

My shield wrapped around me without a second thought to soften the impact of the ground speeding towards me, in the process sending my ambusher flying. Looking up I put a hand over my mouth. My gaze was meet with a pair of eyes glaring back at me, still in the crouched position she had landed in, on the other side of the clearing.

"So much for 'Ill never become a magician,' and you tell me to be careful, you hypocrite." The glaring eyes turned playful and a smile flickered across her face. A giggle slipped between my lips before turning into full out laughing. I pushed myself quickly up onto my feet, shield gone. She was already there.

"Delafay!" I cried out, overjoyed as we embraced each other.

"Im happy to see you to, but I don't go blasting you across clearings," she laughed, pulling away.

"And when I want to greet someone I don't sneak up on them and scare them half to death," was my reply.

She just rolled her eyes "yeah, well that's just me, you should be used to my arrivals by now."

" Its been two years since I last saw you, I would have thought in that time you could have learnt how to walk up to someone and say 'hello' normally." I sighed in mock exasperation.

Shrugging her shoulders she said "Nope," before flashing a wicked smile "It's more entertaining this way."

Laughing again I looked at my old friend, taking note of the changes in her appearance.

Delafays bright, fire red hair was slightly longer than I remembered, falling in loose curls down to her shoulders. Her skin still held the same white pallor as before, and covered a delicate looking bone structure, which I had quickly learnt was deceiving. Though she had grown easily several inches she was still shorter than me. Much to her annoyance im sure, considering she was a couple of years older than me. But it was her vivid green eyes that I had remembered the most. The way they would light up when she laughed, just like they were now, brought back some of my best memories.

She wore a long dark cloak, the ties where connected at her throat by a golden serpent broach. Underneath she wore a black corset style shirt, the strings a dark green colour. Her trousers were also black and clung close to her legs, cut off down the bottom by a pair of leather boots. On the outer sides of the boots you could see the handles of twin daggers, the handles were made out of a dark metal, with flower and leave patterns wove into the base. Hanging from around her neck was a necklace almost exactly the same as mine, the only difference being the rose was not made out of a black diamond but rather of ruby. Making each of the petals look like enlarged drops of blood.

"Come on Sonea, spill, you have to tell me what's happened since I last saw you and how the guild got their hands on you!"

"Like you don't already know," I said.

She twirled around, promptly sitting down by a boulder, "of course, but it's bound to be more interesting from your point of view."

Smiling, I went and sat down opposite her, "okay, okay, where to start."

Clapping happily Delafay leaned forward, her face quickly turning serious and attentive as I started, analysing even the smallest things in great detail. Once Id reached the time Id saw the high lord in his bloodied robes, when Id snuck into the guild grounds with Cery, Id hesitated. I couldn't tell her, not now it would only worry her and then who knows what she would do. The look in her eyes had told me she knew I was holding something back but would let it slide, for now. Id got that look on several occasions, the slight frown she obtained when Id skimmed past my change in guardianship, also told me that I had most likely not gotten away with that lie either.

But it was when Id reluctantly mentioned Regin and his earlier torments; she'd broke her silence, leaping to her feet.

"What how dare he, why didn't you just blast that twit to ashes, I swear Ill teach that pathetic, arrogant s…"

"Delafay, calm down, its all okay now let me explain," Id rushed, cutting her off quickly.

"This better be one good explanation, or…"

"Do you want to hear the rest of my story or not?" Id asked worried as to what would have happen if Id let her go on. I wouldn't put it past her to storm right into the novice's quarters and show Regin what she thought of him, without thinking about the consequences afterwards. Snapping her mouth shut, she'd sat down again, cheek muscle twitching as she'd forced herself not to speak. Once in control of her anger she'd nodded slowly to show she was listening. And Id then hurriedly explained the events in the arena she'd seemed to become more relaxed, even laughing when Id told her what happened to Regin after out last bout. I had just shaken my head.

Later we both lay on the grass, sunbathing, having lapsed into a relaxing silence. Earlier Delafay had quickly taken off her cloak and thrown it to the side, exclaiming that it was too hot and didn't know how I survived in my robes, especially in the summer. Id just laughed, for what had seemed like the hundredth time today because even though I had been lying right in the middle of a sunny patch, I had still felt chilly. Now though as I lay there I debated wither or not it was worth asking what she had been up to for the last two years, knowing that she probably was not allowed to tell me. Instead I decided to go down a different rout.

"So why exactly have you decided to come visit me now?" tilting my head to the side I watched as she rolled onto her side, putting on a false hurt expression.

"You think that I came to see you for other reasons than to just bond with a friend."

"Yes, I was starting to think id never see you again, so after so long there has to be some deeper meaning to this trip than just 'to bond'." was my reply.

I was shocked when she blushed and started picking nervously at the grass. I leaned forward; it took something major to make Del nervous.

"You know that conversation we had at my grandfather's inn," she asked, looking up at me for confirmation.

"We had many conversations at your grandfather's inn, what one?" I was curious now as to where she was going with this.

"Never mind," taking a deep breath and closing her eyes tight she hastily said "Rosto asked me to marry him and I said yes, then I remembered the conversation we had and how we said we'd be each others bride's maids when we were older." another deep breath, "I was wondering if you would be my brides maid."

She opened one eye peaking at me, awaiting my decision. I stared at her for a second, stunned, before a massive grin spread across my face and I lunged at her, enveloping her in a hug.

"I can't believe your finally getting married!" I squealed, "I was starting to think he was never going to find the guts to ask you."

"I know wait how did you know that our relationship had gone serious, last time I saw you we were only just starting out, for all you knew it could have just been another one of my flings."

I laughed. "One, you could see that you were meant for each other from the word go, two, your not the only one with informants, a certain grandfather has been sending me update letters and yes Id love to be your bridesmaid."

It was her time to squeal now as she hugged me, "thank you, oh you have just gone and made everything perfect, thank you."

Smiling, I took her left hand, only for my smile to drop slightly when I saw no ring. Glancing at her I saw a sheepish look on her face as she reached into one of her pockets.

"Sorry, I didn't want you to see and guess before I told you." gently putting the ring from her pocket onto her ring finger she held her hand out to me.

I gasped softly as I looked at it, "it's beautiful!"

The band was made up of five strips of silver which interlaced, flowing round each other until they reached the sides. The diamonds glistened like tiny stars, a magpies dream. But those too where nothing compared to what they continued on to enfold around. The left line of diamonds going over the top to connect to the other side and the right line underneath. The ruby that shone up at me put the blood rose insignias to shame, its deep, captivating depths seemed to glow with an unearthly beauty, unlike anything I had ever seen before. It truly was dazzling and flamboyant, it suited her personality perfectly. I smiled softly as I saw her, eyes shining merrily as she examined her ring, most likely thinking of her to be.

_Sitting on one of the bar stools I took a sip from my fruit juice and fanned myself with my hand, trying in vain to cool myself down after a rather energetic dance. Now I looked around in wonder as the adults took to the floor. The women's vibrant coloured dresses fanning out around them as they were led around the floor, with astonishing grace and beauty by their partners. But it was right in the middle that the newly weds danced, their faces bathed in the soft light of the lanterns hanging from the ceiling amongst the chains of exotic flowers. As they looked at each other you could see the joy, love and adoration reflecting in their eyes._

"_Hello little Sonea, how are you on this fine evening?"_

_Turning I looked up into the old face of Dels grandfather._

"_I'm not little," I said indignantly, pouting slightly._

_He let out a deep chuckle, emerald eyes so like his granddaughters sparkling in amusement, his smile lines deepening._

"_Whatever you say darling," he shook his head, running a hand over his fining grey hair, before placing it back on his chubby belly. I huffed trying to keep up my annoyed pretence, but failed as I smile slightly._

_A laugh brought both of our attentions to the corner of the room. Where Delafay was curled up in the lap of Rosto, head on his shoulder as she smiled up at him. Rosto with his messy, straight, long blond hair that flopped in front of his pale, blue eyes gazed softly down at her. His arms were wound around her waist, holding her close as he leaned down and tenderly pecked her on the lips._

"_It would not surprise me if in a few years that Rostonarto fellow was leading her round the centre of the dance floor as his bride." looking away from them I saw he was smiling fondly at the two of them. As I turned back to look at them I whispered "no it would not."_

"Hello, earth to Sonea, are you all right?" I blinked, to see a hand waving in front of my face.

"Yes, im fine."

A sudden thought entered my mind, "so when's the wedding?"

A dreamy look crossed her face, "in one week," she sighed.

I gasped, "So soon."

"I know," she grinned.

The now all too familiar sound of wind rushing across feathers reached my ears just as my first earlier visitor decided to drop in.

"Angle," I said softly, running my hand lightly along the glossy feather of her neck, "you gave me quite a fright earlier." Angle gently nipped my hand in greeting.

A snicker brought my interest back to Del.

"You should have seen your face earlier, it was hilarious." she giggled.

I merely narrowed my eyes at her. Del held her arm out towards the falcon who hopped happily onto it.

"You back already," she murmured, before looking up at me sadly.

"It's getting late, I should leave."

She was right, the sky was darkening and the sun had almost disappeared behind the horizon. Goose bumps where starting to rise on my arms where it was becoming colder. Standing up I followed Delafay as she put her dark cloak back on.

"Promise you'll come visit soon," I said.

She quickly walked over, taking me into a tight hug.

"Of course, we need to pick you out a dress after all." she grinned, hyper again at the prospect.

"I don't know if Ill be allowed to." I muttered, lifting the side of my robes slightly in explanation.

"Since when have you ever let anyone tell you what to do?" she exclaimed.

"Since I joined the guild." I sighed.

She frowned, "we will sort something out."

Smiling again she turned and disappeared into the trees with a final "see you," Angle perched on her shoulder. Taking a deep breath I started heading back to the residence. Id missed half a day of lessons and I doubted that had gone unnoticed by a certain someone.


	7. Chapter 7

The sun had set by the time I reached the residence. Only a few figures could be seen hurrying to get back to their rooms, small globe lights hovering by their sides. The temperature had plummeted dramatically, my breath now changed into small clouds in front of my face and I had to keep a constant flow of warmth round my body to keep the feeling to my fingers and toes. I turned down the path, pebbles crunching loudly under my feet, breaking the silence. The residence loomed ominously ahead of me, the outline barley distinguishable from the darkness. Only one light could be seen, shining through the window by the front door.

My mouth felt dry as I hesitated before the door. Then deciding to just get it over and done with, I lifted my hand and knocked. The rough wood grazed against my knuckles. Faltering I stumbled, nearly walking into the door as it didn't open. I blinked in surprise, the door always opened. Was this going to be my punishment for missing classes? Locking me out! Bringing my hand down I paused, that didn't seem like him, he wouldn't do that, would he? I didn't have long to think about it as the door swung inwards.

But it was not who I expected, instead of the High Lord there stood Takan, towel in one hand. Smiling slightly he stepped aside, pulling the door further in to allow me room to pass.

"Sorry it took me so long Lady Sonea, I was in the kitchen," said Takan.

I walked past Takan and into the warmth of the residence, glancing around. The room was unoccupied, emptied of its usual brooding, black robed occupant.

"The master had to leave on business, Lady Sonea, and sends his apologies for not being able to greet you." Takan's voice came loudly from behind me and I jumped. I felt my cheeks heat up slightly at being caught out, in what was supposed to be my subtle scan of the room. Why was I so jumpy, even if he was here he wouldn't be able to do much more than yell at me?

I turned back to Takan just as he spoke, "Is there anything else I can do for my Lady?"

The towel was now folded neatly in his arms and I noticed him quickly peek towards the doors that lead to the kitchen. No doubt wanting to continue on with whatever he was doing.

"No thank you Takan," I said.

Bowing he wished me goodnight before returning back to the kitchen, leaving me alone. Sighing in relief I turned and ascended the stairs to my room.

It was the last lesson of the day, alchemy, and time seemed to be set on fast forward. Sighing I looked out of the window, grimacing at the weather. Dark, stormy clouds had taken over the sky, blocking the sun from view. The wind howled, ripping up lose vegetation on the ground and throwing it up into the air. Rain pelted relentlessly against the window pane before flowing like tears down to the sill. The pattering of rain had become surprisingly relaxing, but as the day wore on was broken more frequently by increasingly loud thunder.

Turning back to the teacher, I watched with a mixture of sympathy and amusement as the frustrated expression on his face grew. It had now reached a point where it was nearly impossible for him to continue his lecture to the class, when every few seconds he was drowned out. Another clap of thunder rolled through the classroom, causing some of the girls to scream ridiculously. Rolling my eyes at them I collected my notes and put away my inks, seeing as it didn't look like id be doing much more work today.

Glancing out the window again I froze in my seat, heart accelerating as I stared at the figure striding towards the university from the path that led from the High Lords residence. It was none other than the High Lord himself. His black robes hung unaffected by the raging winds and his long, dark hair was immaculately tied to hang down his back, not one hair out of place. No rain reached him, instead arching in a sphere around him. Then he was gone, passing from my view through the university doors below.

All the anxiety that had been growing inside me as the day passed reached its peak. He was back. Well it was the first time that id seen him, for all I knew he could have been lurking around somewhere. Id thought myself lucky to not have come into contact with the High Lord earlier, but now it looked like there was no chance of avoiding a meeting tonight. For all knew he could know nothing, laughing bitterly under my breath I shook my head. What was I thinking, the High Lord knew everything.

AKK PROV

Walking in through the university doors I let my shield disintegrate without breaking my stride. Straightening the incline on my sleeve I briskly made my way up the marble staircase to the second floor. It was empty as I expected, all the doors where shut, behind them some teachers where most likely struggling to teach their classes. Removing the papers from the insides of my robes, that were the pretence for my absence, I made my way to Director Jerrik's office.

Swiftly using some of my magic to heal away the exhaustion that was beginning to creep back in, I knocked sharply on the Directors door, entering. The obviously startled Director looked up, dropping some papers on his desk, he leaped to his feet.

"How may I help you High Lord?" he said, flustered.

Now straightening the papers he had just dumped so unceremoniously.

"I have come to drop off the papers involving the costs of the guild," I replied, holding them out.

Reaching out he took them, giving them a quick scan then setting them down among the others.

"Thank you, I've needed these for awhile now," he said.

Not wanting to start a conversation with the Director, but rather catch up on some much needed rest, I decided to make my leave.

"I'm afraid I must go now Director Jerrik, goodbye," turning I started heading towards the door not waiting for a reply.

"Oh, goodbye, wait how is Sonea feeling?"

His question made me stop. What did he mean?

"Pardon?" I asked, turning back around.

"Well, I assumed Sonea was Ill, considering there is no record of her attending classes yesterday after lunch," he said turning towards his papers again.

I quickly covered my surprise at this new fact.

"Ahh, yes, here it is," he said as he picked up a slip of paper, "Sonea was absent when all registers where taken in that time period."

Looking up at me he frowned, "did you not know?"

"Of course," I lied smoothly, "It was only a passing bug, she is perfectly fine now."

The Director nodded, "that's good, don't let me keep you any longer I know your busy."

Inclining my head I exited the room, once in the corridor I frowned. Looks like I would not be getting any sleep soon, first I had to find out what my disobedient novice had been up to.

SONEA PROV

Last lesson had ended and the corridors were full with bustling, brown robed novices. Id decided to take a detour to the library, dodging my way round people until I saw the entrance up ahead. Just then I felt a grip on my elbow turning me sharply away from the library and down a side staircase leading to the entrance hall. Trying to pull away from the grip, I glanced up at my guardian. The warning look he gave me told me not to try anything as he released his grip on my elbow, indicating to me to follow. His long strides made me have to jog to keep up as he moved, not even stopping to check if I was following.

Once we were outside, the sphere shaped shield I had seen earlier around him appeared, expanding to encompass both of us. The rain covering the shield made it hard for me to see. Despite this the High Lord seemed unfazed, moving with confidence. With me following close by his side we reached the residence too soon.

The door swung open before we reached it and the High Lord swept inside, shield dropping causing a shower of rain to splash up my back, before I could reach full cover. Gasping I pulled back on the now cold, drenched material, shivering. Quickly sending a heat wave down my back I evaporated the water. Turning I saw him pour a glass of red wine before sitting down. He took a sip from the glass, then set it down, folding his hands and stared at me pensively.

"So, how have your lessons been Sonea?" he asked.

"Normal," I shrugged, trying to act natural.

He merely nodded, "and how about yesterday's?"

I gulped, he knew but I could still try, "you dragged me back here just to ask me about my lessons?"

His eyes narrowed, "no actually, you see I just had the most interesting conversation with Director Jerrik, turns out that you attended none of yesterdays afternoon lessons."

Think, think, think. Ducking my head I tried to act embarrassed.

"I fell asleep," I murmured, glancing up.

He raised his eyebrows, "you fell asleep?"

His voice sounded incredulous, "you expect me to believe that you fell asleep."

I nodded.

"Where was it exactly that you decided to take this nap?" he asked.

"The beginning of the stream and I dint decide to, I just did," I said.

He frowned, eyes disbelieving, "what lessons did you miss?"

Thinking I replied, "Double warriors and a healing session in the indoor herd gardens."

Leaning back in his chair he pursed his lips, "well then you shall have to have added warriors lessons for the next two weeks, it will not seem out of the ordinary."

I let out a quiet sigh in relief, I could deal with that.

"And you will not be allowed back to the stream, we can not have you falling asleep again now can we?"

I felt my eyes widen, it would be virtually impossible to see Delafay if I could not go there.

"Are you seriously going to punish me for falling asleep?" I exclaimed.

"Yes, I am," he replied, raising his eyebrows again at my outburst.

"You can't do that, it's not my fault!" I said frustrated.

"I think you'll find I can, missing lessons can't go unpunished," he said.

"That's not fair," I glowered, angry now.

"Life's not fair, hasn't anyone ever told you that?" was his reply.

I glared at him and he held my gaze. I could see that I wasn't going to make any progress with him.

"Can I go to my room now?" I hissed.

He just gestured to the staircase. Fuming, I try not to stomp up the stairs.

Chucking myself on my bed I heard something rustle underneath me. Sitting up I looked down, seeing a blank envelope. Opening it I found a slip of paper. Frowning I turned it around, smiling when I recognised the writing.

_Meet me outside our old meeting place, tomorrow at noon._

_Del_

I laughed, trust Del to have already found out my timetable, tomorrow was free day. Maybe it would not be as difficult to keep contact with her as I thought. I should have learnt by now not to underestimate Delafay, but then I could say the same for the High Lord.


	8. Chapter 8

As always I had woken up early. The sun was barely visible from the east, the sky stained with oranges, reds and purples. Dawn, my favourite time of the day, a time when I could walk around while most people where still asleep. Slipping on my robes and boots I exited my room, tying my hair up into a neat knot. Making my way down the stairs I walked through the empty entrance and out the front door. The cold morning air stung my warm face, the white frost that coated everything crunched beneath my feet. The rain from last night had stopped, but the dark clouds brewing above promised more. I just hoped that they would hold off until at least late afternoon. Entering the baths I noticed for the first time in a while I was starting to feel excited.

The guards at the guild gates bowed as I passed, glancing at each other. They obviously did not recognise me, but then how could they; I had hardily ever left the guild grounds. I had spent the morning revising after my trip to the baths. Time had seemed to take ten times longer to pass than normal; it appeared to be doing that a lot recently. I made my way quickly through the inner circle while the flamboyant, ornately dresses people of the houses stared in both awe and respect, bowing to me as I travelled by. Tall, grand houses lined the streets, their white marble surfaces immaculate. Gold and jewel encrusted carriages with the different houses crests embedded in their sides glided past. They were pulled by only the finest thoroughbred horses, which where primed to perfection.

Things quickly changed as I pasted the Northern gates into the Northern Quarter. The gazes of awe and respect rapidly changed to suspicion, even in some cases hate as I made my way deeper into the Quarter. Ducking into one of the side alleys between two rundown, wooden houses I pulled a folded cloak from the inside of my robes. It was the same cloak I had brought off of a servant girl when visiting Jonna, Ranel and my cousin for the first time. Slipping it around my shoulders I pulled the hood down low, making sure my robes where not visible before returning back to the open street.

Now hidden in the folds of the cloak I felt more at ease. The people around me no longer noticed me, instead their gazes slid over me just seeing me as another member of the crowd, like them. As the buildings became closer together, the condition of the streets and the people walking along them decreased. I was suddenly glad for my thick, sturdy, leather boots that the guild provided. I found myself grimacing when I saw people walking around bare footed, even though I had once done exactly the same.

Five minutes later I reached the Turn off I had been looking for; it was halfway down what appeared to be a normal alley. A gap only big enough to fit down sideways was set in the wall, so cleverly that unless you knew exactly where it was you could look all day and never find it. Glancing in both directions I saw no one, so turned on my side shuffling roughly ten meters along. The walls where so close that they brushed against my front and back, no light was visible rendering me blind, but increasing my other senses. I did not like the claustrophobic feeling; therefore I was relived when the pressure on my front disappeared. I jumped, the rush of wind as I fell whipped my cloak around me, it was an odd sensation falling when you couldn't see. My feet came into contact hard with the ground, sending shocks up my legs even though I bent my knees. Bracing my hand on the side wall I steadied myself, this passageway was big enough to walk facing forwards down. I continued down to the end, before turning on my side to go down a gap like the first one, except unlike the other one, three quarters of the way down their branched off a lit up passage. Taking this branch I walked eight paces down before turning and walking through a seemingly solid wooden wall.

I blinked, looking at the small square courtyard surrounded by houses of grandeur not unlike those of the inner circle. I smiled; this was the slums equivalent of what the palace was like for the inner circle, the only catch being only a selective few knew about this place. It was not the grand houses on top that mattered, no they where just a decoy, it was what was underneath them and who they held that mattered.

The houses where made of a special black stone that was harvested from within certain sections of the Lonmar deserts. Pillars ran round the edge of the court holding up canopy's, one of which I was standing under, they were made of the same stone as the houses. Each pillar was engraved with symbols, some old, some new, but I did not pause to read them. Seating areas had been arranged and a few where occupied, though I did not recognise any of them. Perfectly kept rose bushes could be seen dotted around. Even though we were in the midst of winter their leaves where a dark, healthy green and the blood, red roses in full bloom. That was the way they always where, constant splashes of colour among the black. Even the floor was made from the black stone.

But it was as I turned my attention to the water fountain in the centre of the court that I saw Del. She was leaning against one of the statues adjoined to the fountain. It was a she the statue, a water nymph, so skilfully crafted that she looked like she would start walking and talking any second. The same went for the rest of the fountains sculptures, made up of every mythical creature imaginable, it was both enchanting, beautiful and terrifying all at the same time. Walking towards Delafay I smiled when I saw her face light up as she caught sight of me.

"Sonea, are you ok, your two minutes late!" she exclaimed walking forward.

"Nice to see you to, I'm fine, not everyone can be perfectly on time all the time like you," I said.

"Sorry," she said hugging me in greeting, "I was beginning to worry your guardian had not let you out."

"He dose not know I left, if he asks I'll say I was visiting Jonna, Ranel and my cousin," I said.

Del frowned, "You don't trust him?"

"No," I replied.

"Good," she muttered.

"What do you mean 'good'?" I asked.

"I don't like him," she said looking up at me.

I laughed, "You have never met him, so how can you not like him?"

"I don't need to have met him, I've heard enough about him," she said seriously.

I frowned, "like what?"

"It does not matter," her serious expression changed to a smile.

"Do you want to go get your dress now?" she said glancing towards one of the houses, whose first floor had been converted into a shop.

"OK," I said letting the subject slide as she pulled me excitedly towards the shop.

"You have not met this designer before, his new, but he has already become renowned for his dresses, I showed him an image of you, also I gave him the colours he could choose from and he said he would have a dress ready for you now," she grinned up at me.

He must be good, Del very rarely becomes excited over a designer, but then when she does they always turn out the best.

I closed the door behind me as Del skipped forward and tapped a small, silver bell that rested on a dark, mahogany counter along the far wall. Clothes lined the walls; the majority of them dresses, some where on racks while other, more impressive works where displayed on their own. From what I could see his work truly was extraordinary. A set of sofas were set in a circle in the middle of the room, their frames made from the same wood as the counter and the front was wrapped with a deep, scarlet velvet material.

"Hello?" A male's voice from behind a curtain at the back of the room said. A head popped round from the edge of the curtain.

"Ah, Delafay," he said glancing at me, "hold on a second and I'll fetch the dress."

Then he was gone again, his head disappearing back round the curtain.

Not long later he returned, whipping open the curtain behind which a corridor of doors could be seen, in his arms he held something red.

"Red, correct me if I'm wrong but isn't a bridesmaid usually seen in gold or black?" I whispered to Del as quietly as possible as she tugged me forward into the room.

"Yes, but I don't want to be like everyone else, so I choose different colours and it looks like he choose red out of them," she replied.

I turned back to the designer. He was tall with light brown hair, enchanting grey eyes and a friendly smile. He wore a loose, black short sleeved shirt, black trousers, leather boots and a white tape measure was slung around his shoulders. He was muscular but not overly so, like most men in this place.

He walked over to me and kissed both my cheeks.

"You must be Sonea, my name is Raphael."

"It's a pleasure to meet you," I replied.

He then turned and kissed both of Dels cheeks and they exchanged greetings.

"I can't wait to see what the dress looks like on her," said Del.

Raphael handed me the red material and pointed towards the curtain.

"Just go though there and pick any door on the left."

I looked at myself in the mirror the room provided. I wore a floor length silk, red dress, it was strapless and the material hugged my upper body, before falling freely splitting halfway down my right thigh. Gold links ran down the centre of my upper body, thousands of tiny, thin flowers all joined together in intricate patterns. The material on either side gathered, joined to it by small gold clips that could not be seen from the outside. Patches of my skin could be seen underneath the gold, but not too much as to make me feel uncomfortable.

I twirled once watching the small circle of fabric that trailed at my feet flutter. I liked it.

"Sonea, come on you can't still be changing, I want to see," called Del from outside my door.

"Ok," I called, feeling slightly self-conscious as I walked out of the room; it had been so long since I had worn anything but my robes.

Del squealed when she saw me, clapping her hands, "It looks beautiful on you," she exclaimed, "you look stunning."

"Thank you," I mumbled, blushing.

Looking at Raphael I saw him evaluating me, thinking.

"One minute," he said, walking past me into one of the rooms on the right.

I looked at Del, she shrugged.

After a while he came back out of the room, shoes in one hand and a box in the other.

He handed the shoes to me, "put these on."

I did as he said putting on the pair of small, wooden and red stain shoes.

He smiled, "now that is better than those horrible guild boots, no offence."

"None taken," I replied.

Opening the box he turned it towards me, inside was a variety of different styles of clips all designed in the same way as the golden flowers on my dress.

"I can not put these on you now, but when you have your hair styled for the wedding have these added."

I smiled at him, "I will, thank you for designing this dress for me."

"No problem," he said, flashing me a smile, "it's good to see you finally wearing it though."

"Oh, now I just can not wait to see what you have done for my dresses," said Del.

"You're going to try your dresses on today?" I asked.

"I'm afraid she can not, I have not finished them." replied Raphael.

Del pouted.

"Sonea unless you want to go back out into the slums and ruin your dress I suggest you go and change," called Del as she turned towards the counter, where Raphael was working out the amount due.

I nodded, turning back towards the changing room.

Once back outside in the courtyard Del turned to me, "I can look after the dress until the wedding if you want."

I looked down at the neatly wrapped parcel in my arms; I suppose if she kept it there was no chance of anyone finding it at the residence.

"That sounds like a good idea," I said.

Del clapped her hands and a servant appeared out of no where. Talking rapidly to him in another language she pointed towards the parcel in my arms, I handed it to him. Bowing to us he turned and vanished again. I raised my eyebrows at Del, she shrugged.

'What, I've grown older and in the process gained more influence, now do you want to go out and find some food?"

After we had made our way out the way I had come in, we hunted down Dels favourite sandwich restaurant. For someone so small I had no idea how she managed to eat so much. We browsed through the busy markets, blending in with everyone else but finding nothing of interest or worth buying. It was late afternoon by now and the clouds above seemed to be becoming darker, a sign that we were going to have to part ways soon and start making our ways back to our separate homes. It was as we where walking down one of the side alleys, a shortcut, that Del suddenly broke of talking mid sentence, head snapping to the side. I only had the chance to catch a glance of the force strike roaring towards us. It hit the messy shield Del had hurriedly thrown up around us, the force of the strike made us stagger, my hood falling down. Dels shield wavered as she tried to refocus; I quickly added my own magic to the shield, looking around for our attacker. My eyes zeroed in on a figure stepping out of the shadows. Locking eyes with the figure I felt myself freeze in shock, it was the High Lord. I saw the shock reflect in his eyes as he recognised me. Snapping his eyes to Del for a second he turned his attention quickly back to me, his gaze was worried as he looked at me, shield still strong around him. Holding out his hand to me he said, "Sonea, come here now."

I frowned, if I moved he would attack Del.

"No," I replied, voice firm.


	9. Chapter 9

He blinked in shock, the surprise at my refusal to co-operate evident on his face. The look was quickly replaced behind a mask of cool indifference, his pitch, black eyes calculating as they bore into mine. The fingers on his hand flexed slightly as he reached out further towards me.

"Sonea, you do not understand the situation you are in, come here," his tone was commanding but I caught the undertone of anxiety attached to it.

Glancing sideways at Del I saw how tense she was eyes sharp and alert, watching his every move for a sign of attack. Her eyes flickered to mine briefly then away.

"No, I will not, I am perfectly fine," I said.

His eyes narrowed, gaze flickering rapidly between Del and me as he drew back his hand. It was Del who spoke next drawing both of our attention.

"I can assure you Akkarin that I mean neither Sonea, you nor the guild any harm, I believe in this situation that it is you who does not fully understand the situation and is jumping to conclusions, and I am merely an old friend of Sonea's come to visit."

"Friend," he said disbelief clear in his voice as he looked at me for confirmation.

"Yes, a friend," I said, even with my confirmation his shield did not drop, but then neither did Dels.

"A friend with magic," Akkarin hissed, glaring at Del.

"I know what you are thinking, I'm not what you are thinking, I'm not Ichani," said Del.

"A slave?" he asked.

Del actually laughed, shaking her head, "far from it, I'll let you of this time for ignorance, but say that again and I'll take it as an insult."

Akkarin pursed his lips and a look of anger flashed across his face.

Del held a hand momentarily over her mouth looking apologetic, "oh, I'm sorry forgot about your past."

I frowned, what did she mean by that?

"How do you know?" Akkarin demanded, taking a threatening step closer towards Del.

Worried I moved forward to stand part between the two of them.

"It's alright Sonea," came Dels reassuring voice from behind me.

The High Lord was not looking at me however but glaring at Del, his posture far from friendly, so I decided to stay exactly where I was. For them to have a fight here would not be a good idea.

"Did you honestly think that the years you spent in Sachaka would go unnoticed, that the information would not spread out of the Ianchi groups?" Del asked with genuine interest.

"Who are you? Why are you here? Who is your master and this is the last time I ask, how do you know?"

Del sighed, "I pity you Sonea if he is always like this."

I tried not to smile, while Akkarin's glare darkened.

"My name is Delafay, I have already told you why I am here, I do not have a master and I make it my business to find out everything about the people who get close to my friends, happy?"

"No, but this is not the place to converse."

Turning Akkarin gestured back into the shadows; a tiny globe light appeared, illuminating a small, dirty side passage. Worriedly I looked at Del, who smiled, eyes sparkling, dropping the shield around us and walking forward as confident as ever. Shaking my head I followed after her. She found this amusing; it was a game to her. I suppose it was to be expected, Del had always liked hearing the secrets and scandalous rumours that was the daily gossip of her people. This whole event would probably make a good story for her to tell.

Just as I was walking past Akkarin I felt his long fingers wrap easily around my forearm, before tightening and pulling me back firmly so I was behind him. I looked up but my protests quickly died in my throat at the warning look he gave me, his eyes ran over my body, assessing me for any injuries.

"Just stay close," he whispered softly before enlarging his shield to engulf me. Turning I saw Del standing impatiently ahead, tapping her foot and caught her rolling her eyes at Akkarin's shield. This really was not fair on him; it was natural for him to think Del a danger.

We moved quickly through the dark twisting passage ways that made up a large portion of the slums. Boots sloshing through things Id rather not think about, the occasional Ceryni or Ravi darting for cover, startled by our presence. Then there was the people slumped in small dirty out cloves or lying on the ground. Filthy rags hung from their skeletal bodies, hair matted and skin covered in a thick layer of grime. Their eyes stared emptily ahead not noticing us pass. Akkarin didn't even bother stopping his globe light when passing them; it was difficult to tell if some of them were even alive.

Soon we stopped before a manhole, the only thing making it stand out being the finger like scrapes in the mud round its sides. Bending down Akkarin pulled the circle of metal up and carefully put it aside. The globe light floated down into the dark abyss, revelling regular slabs of stone jutting out of the wall to form a type of ladder. Watching my guardian I saw him looking at Del, indicating that she should go first into what I was almost certain was the thieves' tunnels.

It was not long before Dels bright red hair vanished from the light the globe light provided.

"Ok, Sonea you next but if she shows a sign of aggression or trys to hurt you, call on me immediately."

I nodded but still said, "She won't."

Clambering down into the hole I cautiously started to make my way down the make shift ladder. The stone was cold against my fingers and I found myself slipping occasionally, sending my heart hammering. The dark started to close in on me so I had to feel my way down. The crash of the manhole falling back into place above made me jump, tilting my head back slightly I managed to make out the outline of his descending figure and he was going a lot faster than me. I sped up until I reached the bottom, really not in the mood for having my head trod on.

Backing away I brushed my hands off on my cloak and spotted Del leaning against one of the tunnel walls, totally at ease.

Seeing me looking at her she grinned, "This beats the boring old paper work im supposed to be doing about now."

I looked at her in disbelief, "you do paper work!"

She grimaced, "I know, but it comes with the responsibility."

The sound of feet connecting with ground made me turn to see Akkarin straightening up. Glancing at the two of us he walked over to me and tilted his head to the right, "this way."

Following obediently I wondered how Akkarin had managed to get permission to use the thieves under ground tunnels. For there was no doubt that these where anything but, they were too alike to the ones Id used when being hidden from the guild. Maybe he did not have permission and they are just too afraid to confront the guilds leader. But I would not put it past him to have connections among the thieves.

Turning we entered into a more lavish tunnel. The floor was clean and smooth, lanterns hung on the walls revelling dark wooden doors the stone around then carved with figures, animals, flowers and patterns. Small holes in the walls contained little woven baskets filled with fresh herbs and flowers, to over ride the stench of the slums.

Akkarin hand flicked and one of the doors closest to us opened, Del entered first quickly followed by me. The click of the door behind me and the light pressure of a hand on the small of my back moving me further into the room, told me that Akkarin was close behind. Looking at Del I noticed her rapidly taking in every feature of the room.

It was a small greeting room; the walls were painted in a dark, soothing green with hard wood skirting boards. Several ebony cabinets and a fire place, coals burning, decorated the room. The same baskets as from outside where in here, but the lanterns had been replace with candles sticks. Couches and armchairs in the same colour as the walls where grouped in the middle, a table with small bowls of snacks in the centre of them. There was only one door placed at the back of the room, most likely leading to a guest bed chamber.

The time I had scanned the room Del was already seated and inspecting a bowl of Tiro. The pressure on my back vanished as I sat down in one of the armchairs. Looking at Del I saw that she had decided the bowl of Tiro edible as she popped one into her mouth. She tilted the bowl towards me, raising her eyebrows questionable but I declined. Akkarin was still standing watching our exchange with interest; he had removed his cloak and looked every bit the intimidating High Lord.

"You say you truly mean no harm and you say you're not an Ichani, yet you are not of the guild so you must be one of the Sachaka kings magicians, a spy."

"You Kyralians are so distrustful, we do not belong to the king, I am not one of his magicians, as for being a spy I am not at the moment," replied Del.

I looked at her with wide eyes; she was not actually going to tell him the truth was she. Seeing me staring at her she quickly swapped languages.

"I will not tell him your part in this that is up to you."

"What did you say?" said Akkarin.

I smiled at him, "trust me you'd rather not know, Del has a habit with, um, rude jokes."

Del fake glared, "that was actually quite tame."

Akkarin's eyes narrowed, but let it slide, "you said 'we' and you say you are not a spy at the moment so that means you usually are, admitting that how do you think I can trust you?"

"I did not ask you to trust me but it is something I would be honoured to earn, for Sonea's sake."

Pausing Del drew a breath yet did not continue what she was going to say, instead her head whipped towards the door we had entered through.

It opened seconds later and Cery walked in followed by a woman, he stopped breaking off mid sentence from what ever he had been saying to the woman.

"Cery," I exclaimed, jumping up and hugging him.

"Hai, Sonea," Cery replied hugging me back.

Looking at the woman, who I had now identified as being Sachakan, I had a distinct feeling I had meet or seen her in the past, though maybe only briefly.

"Who's this?" I asked Cery, my curiosity getting the better of me.

He hesitated, looking at the woman I saw her staring at something round my neck. Reaching up I wrapped my hand around my necklace. She looked up eyes nearly popping out of her head, uncertainty being the main emotion before swiftly dropping her gaze from mine to the floor.

Cery frowned, looking between us with confusion, "this is…"

"Savara," finished Del.

Savara turned towards Del and bowed, using the language Del had spoke with earlier, "My lady."


	10. Chapter 10

Del smiled, "long time no see, Id heard you had been posted here, I'm surprised I have not already seen you."

"I've been busy, plus I didn't even know you where here," Savara said tilting her head at Cery, "you know how it is."

Del pouted, "It sounds fun, I should be doing more interesting stuff than you."

Savara laughed, "I doubt what I'm doing would amuse you, compared to the jobs you get this must seem like babies work."

Del shrugged, "hard work can become too much, sometimes simpler tasks bring up more surprises."

"If it's not out of my station may I ask what you're doing here?" Savara questioned Del, eyes sliding towards me curiously.

Dels eyes lost their pleasantness, "personal reasons."

Savara ducked her head, "sorry my lady, I should not intrude so."

Akkarin cleared his throat, "can you speak in a language that everyone understands."

"You are Akkarin?" Savara said inspecting him closely, eyes stopping on the incal on his sleeve.

"Yes, how do you know this woman?" Akkarin asked, pointing at Del.

"What is this, an interrogation?" Savara chuckled.

"That's exactly what this is. I consider this woman a danger to Kyralia, anyone involved with her is then also considered a danger."

"This woman has a name," muttered Del.

"Does that make me a danger?" I asked walking back over to him, "this isn't necessary, you're over reacting."

A range of emotions flickered across his face, a large amount of them negative; he reached out and touched my arm connecting with my mind.

"I know you trust her but you have to consider she might not be what she seems, try to look at things from my point of view," he sent.

Frustration laced my words as I replied, "I know she's okay, Ive known her for a long time and she has never shown a want to hurt me or the guild, nor does she have need to."

He paused before replying, "I can not be sure your side had not been addled by her, I must find out if what you say is true for myself."

His hand and mind slipped away from me as he turned towards a confused Cery, impatient Del and annoyed Savara.

"And you complain when we speak in our own language yet you two have private conversations too," said Del.

"Can someone please explain what's going on," Cery asked looking between us all.

"Who is Savara to you Ceryni?" Akkarin inquired.

Cery blinked and glanced at Savara, "just someone who is working with me on one of my jobs."

"In other words I'm helping Cery track down the people you hunt," Savara said bluntly.

I frowned becoming the one that was confused, "what does she mean by 'the people you hunt'."

I turned to face Akkarin but he looked away.

"You mean she doesn't know!" Savara laughed.

"What don't I know?" I asked, crossing my arms and turning now towards Savara.

"Well, when your High Lord visited Sach…"

"Stop," snapped Akkarin glaring at Savara.

"No," I protested, "you're going to make us explain ourselves so I want to know what you are hiding from me."

He took a deep breath and you could practically see his thoughts racing. After a while he looked at me, "I know you will not tell me the whole truth if I were to ask, that you have secrets, thoughts and events that you want to keep to yourself. So if you don't make me tell you my secrets and trust me to reveal to you what I feel is necessary, then I will not make you share yours."

I paused, for he could quite easily make me reveal my secrets by reading my mind, which would probably be a much easier option for him than what he was doing now. I shuddered slightly remembering the last time he had read my mind, it had taken all my will power to stop him seeing certain memories then and I doubted I could do so again, when my hiding things would be what he was looking for.

"Fine," I said reluctantly, "I agree."

I walked over and sat in a chair next to Del, who had resumed picking from the bowl of Tiro, watching the scenes before her unfold as one would watch the theatre.

"Enjoying yourself?" I asked.

She grinned, "This beats the renowned Sir Loniars plays any day."

I shook my head in exasperation, how she can be so light hearted at times like this? We both stopped talking to listen to Akkarin's and Savaras exchange.

"You say you are helping in tracking down these people Im interested in, how exactly are you doing this?"

Savara held her hand up, palm facing upwards and small multicoloured globe lights appeared, dancing around each other. She closed her palm and the small globe lights disappeared.

Savara smiled, "the same way you do."

Akkarin looked between Del and Savara, "are you of the same, group, as her?"

"No, nor could I ever be, I do not meet even the most basic of requirements for such a life. It was only by chance that I ever meet my lady."

"Then who do you work for, it's clear that you are Sachakan," stated Akkarin.

"I work for the King of Sachaka, I …"

"You're a spy, "Akkarin spat.

"No wait, you have to let me explain."

"I don't have to let you do anything," he said.

"I was sent to help you," Savara rushed.

He made a sound of disbelief, "you expect me to believe that the King of Sachaka wants to help me, how does he even know?'

"He doesn't know that it's only you who are stopping them, he thinks it's the whole guild," Savara explained.

"But you just said you were sent to help me not the guild."

"If you stopped interrupting me I'd be able to explain."

Savara paused, waiting to see if Akkarin had gotten her point and it appeared he had for he was now standing still arms crossed waiting expectantly.

"My king found out a few months ago that the Ichani had been sending people into Kyralia, this enraged him, even in exile they managed to cause trouble. He then found out that none of the people that had been sent to Kyralia had come back, that they had all been killed. This confused him, if they had been killed by the guild then why had you not retaliated? Of course he had heard from the same person who had supplied the information on the Ichani that they thought the guild no longer used Black Magic. Foolishly for him, but luckily for you he dismissed this information; thinking that there was no way so many could have been killed without there at the very least having to be several Black Magicians. Naturally it didn't bother him that you had killed these people, you were doing him a favour as far as he was concerned, although the fact that you had not reacted to the attacks plagued his mind. Perhaps you were dismissing these cases, seeing them as mere annoyances, but how long would it take for them to become too annoying, or what if one of them killed someone important. That's when he called for me; I was the newest magician in his personal circle of assistants chosen for my power and skill. He told me what he had found out and that he wanted me to infiltrate Kyralia. My job was to intercept the people the Ianchi sent and use them to find out who the main trouble makers were, I was to stay undetected by the guild only to reveal myself if necessary.

It was just before I was about to leave that one of the Liberi Of Umbra came to me with a message from a Cruor Messor I owed my life to after a, um, incident. He told me that you were the only one who knew and practiced regularly Black Magic, that it is consider one of the gravest of crimes and if caught punishable by death. You can imagine my surprise, I had considered that what the source had said might be true, but for them to throw away such knowledge, such power, I still do not understand. Anyway he offered me a way to pay of my debt, not that I really had any choice it was more of an order and no one who denies the order of any Primoris Cruor seems to survive for long. He wanted me to make sure that my king never found out how weak the guild was compared to us, to lie to him. He told me I was to seek out a thief by the name Ceryni, he told me that this Ceryni had connections to you and was helping find the people the Ichani sent. I was to worm my way in and follow my king's orders as far as hunting down the trouble makers. If I cam into contact with you I was to tell you this.

Akkarin during Savaras explanation had gravitated to one of the couches at which he was now sitting on the arm, frowning.

"I find this all rather hard to believe," he murmured.

"I was also told that if I found permission I could let you read my mind," Savara grimaced at the thought turning to look at Del. A brief look of concentration crossed Dels face as she stared at Savara before she blinked face relaxing again.

"You hold nothing of importance," Del shrugged.

Akkarins frown deepened as Savara knelt before him. He hesitated, uncertainty obvious in his expression, before he reached out and pressed his palms firmly on either side of her head. Slowly the frown on his face eased away as he shut his eyes, his face smooth, calm, it looked almost as if he was sleeping.

In the silence I took the chance to go over what I had learnt. The Ichani were sending people into Kyralia, they suspected that the guild no longer used Black Magic and so would be unable to protect themselves and their people sufficiently if they were to attack. That must be why they were sending the people to test the guild, Akkarin had killed them though, did this deter them or did they know that it was just him. Attack is defiantly an option for them, but surely if this was so Del would have warned me, unless she doesn't see this as a serious danger.

We waited, time slowly passing, almost unbearably so and still they did not move from their positions. Eventually Akkarin stirred, lashes lifting to reveal two strikingly intelligent black orbs, his hands withdrawing from Savaras temples.

"She is telling the truth," he said as Savara swayed slightly on unsteady feet.

Cery who had been unusually quiet spoke up, looking directly at Savara, "so you were just using me?"

Savaras eyes widened, "No Cery, it's not like that."

"Its OK, I understand, you were just doing what was needed to make sure your orders were done to your best ability, "Cery shrugged.

It was clear to me that this bothered him despite his cool dismissal, was something more personal going on between them? I jumped as the door slammed shut behind Cery.

"Someone's not very happy," muttered Del under her breath from beside me.

Savaras head snapped towards Del, lips pursed in an effort not to speak out of line.

"Please can I go after him," asked Savara turning back to Akkarin.

Akkarin tilted his head towards the door, "You may go, but hurt or jeopardise the guild and the people of Kyralia in any way and you will have the same fate as the people you were sent to help me find."

"Thank you," breathed Savara in relief before turning and bowing towards Del quickly, eyes flickering briefly at me, uncertain. Her uncertainty did not stop her for long as she turned and hurried out the door after Cery.

"My turn," exclaimed Del with a smile, breaking the silence that had seemed to settle once Savara had left.

"Indeed, your turn, "Akkarin said, sliding off of the arm of the couch to the seat.

"Lets start with questions is there anything in particular you want to know?" questioned Del.

Akkarins eyebrows raised fractionally before answering, "Savara mentioned the Liberi of umbra, a Cruor Messor and the Primoris Cruor, are they anything to do with you and what do they mean?"

"Yes, the first two are what you could call ranking titles; the last is one of the names that people have come to associate with us."

"Us, who is use?" Asked Akkarin.

Del sighed finally taking things seriously, "you must understand that there are things that even if I wanted to I couldn't tell you. We have been considering another outsider to give the knowledge to for some time, one of our sources is retiring and your position in the guild, plus past experience, knowledge and the fact that you're close to Sonea is what is allowing me to tell you this."

"I am not going to be your spy if that's what you're after."

Del frowned disapprovingly at Akkarins interruption, "No, merely your cooperation in present and future events would be handy and appreciated. I am not fool enough to think that you would agree now or even when I am done explaining. But one day you may find trust enough for us to work together."

"We have two main names that have been given to us, Primoris Cruor and Primoris Prognatus. Which translated mean's First Blood and First Born, not that most who use them now know what they mean. We are direct or close decedents to an ancient race. Our ancestors moved to settle on this side of the world after the Great War, they hoped to start a new world. They took a hundred children who had been born with the insignias on the small of their backs as was foretold in the prophecies. The children that would grow up to discover great powers and recreate the civilisation that had been destroyed in a safer place far away from danger, the last of their kind.

All the children excelled in their new world, both physically and mentally they surpassed way beyond the normal abilities of an average person. Five of these children stood out more and more as they grew older, but it was when they turned twenty one and went through the ceremony officially recognising them as adults not children that it all started. The invisible band that had been wrapped round the children's minds for their entire lives snapped, allowing them to finally have full access to their minds. The reactions varied as one by one their minds were released. In the most violent of cases the mind overwhelmed the body, they panicked, unable to make the body adapt quick enough to keep up with the advancements of their minds. They died. The majority of them did the basics to keep themselves alive and healthy then shied away from the knowledge, locking themselves back in the safe haven they had lived in before. Only the five embraced the new knowledge, the new power, opening themselves fully to the change, seeing what the others did not and facing it without fear. And that is how the first magicians came into existence.

As time pasted the five continued to learn and discover new things, mastering every challenge that came their way. Soon they started to teach the others what they had discovered, all of them learnt the basics but very few were able to do much more. Centuries pasted and their population grew, each generation just as powerful if not more so than the last, the decedents of the five always the strongest. Different groups of people started to integrate with them, descending from the mountains or coming in from the surrounding islands. None of them had the power that they did and many were too afraid to go near them, but some of the braver ones did. Again century's later cities, country lines and nations started to form. A group known today as the Sachakans were the first to have magical children born out of the fold, followed by your ancestors. But these children were no way near as powerful as them, so in an attempt to help the children that were brought to them to be educated, they taught them something now known as Black Magic.

Everything seemed to be going perfectly for them, the new world had been created, everyone was at peace, they were revered by all and were advancing leaps and bounds every year. But then groups started arriving in their lands that had magic like them! They welcomed the newcomers, excited that others could have powers like theirs. What they didn't know was that these were the descendents of their enemies in the Great War and they had not visited for pleasant reasons. They worked their ways into the decedents of the five social groups, befriending them, some even courted them.

Soon came around the night to celebrate the one thousandth five hundredth year since they had settled in their lands, they spent weeks preparing for the celebration wanting to make it perfect, everyone was invited, including the guests. That night became the worst thing to happen to them since the Great War, the guests turned on them, more seemly appearing out of nowhere to assist them. Two entire lines descended from two of the five were wiped out entirely, the remaining three damaged greatly. Many of the enemy were killed that night, but not all, it took weeks to hunt them all down but by then many innocents and magicians had been killed. Entire towns were destroyed, the landscape marred. The non magicians and weak magicians turned their backs on them, blinded by terror at the damage and suffering that had been done and could be done again.

They became the outcasts to a world they had created. They decided to go about things a different way and if you look closely through history you might be able to see were they blended back in with everyone else. Subtly guiding everyone, teaching, influencing decisions, helping form the guild, other groups and alliances. We are like guardians to you all, weaving our way in and out of history always going unnoticed, until we reach today. They may have turned their backs on us but we never turned our backs on them. We are everywhere, in every king or queens court, in every country, in all major decisions made you will find at least one of us pulling gently at our strings of influence. Nearly all masterful and key advances or discoveries the ideas will have somehow been dropped in by us. Of course things do not always go to plan, the Sachakan and Kyralian war being a really big one. Also occasionally one or two of our old enemies will come by and have to be dealt with, the same goes for those who get too nosy or learn too much.

So very early on an idea sprung up, it was law that all learn to fight and kill after the devastating attack that night , why not form a small band of specialists fighters and assassins. This group would be able to ensure their secret stay safe and would be able to protect them. Plus especially after the first few centuries of outcast years money was hard to come by and killing as long as the person was of no importance was an easy income, especially with their heightened physically skills. Those first few years were the cause of our ranking names, now the act is not as popular, but all are trained just encase and some choose to go on to specialize despite the disapproval. To be an assassin is frowned upon as a job for a person of any status, but especially so for those of near pure blood descendent and a Regius Cruor has never been one, even though they of all of us are most suited."

Del paused, tapping her nails lightly on the arm of the chair thoughtfully, "I don't really know what else to tell you that you would be interested in."

Akkarin was sat forward in his chair, elbows resting on his knees, his chin resting on folded hands. A permanent crease seemed to have formed between his brows while Del had been speaking, listening intently to everything she had said. He now lent back rolling his shoulders slightly.

"So you are saying that you are a descendent of one of the first magicians and that you have secretly helped create and run today as we know it."

"Pretty much." she smiled, "apart from I must make it clear that im not a Regius Cruor, my ancestors were taught by the five."

"Do the five have names?"

"Not to you they don't."

"Are you allowed to explain the ranking names and what they are in more detail?" Akkarin asked.

Del tilted her head to the side, "not in detail but the basics, it's all rather simple. The Liberi of Umbra translates to Children of Shadows and they are the equivalent of your novices, but can be any age. To advance you have to go through a series of strenuous tests that push you to the limit in all aspects, if you do not get over ninety eight percent in all the tests you would never advance. The advancement is either to a Cruor Rose, which means Blood Rose and is the female name given or Cruor Messor which means Blood Reaper and is the male name given. There are so many stages in each of these that if I were to tell you them all we would be here for years. Those titles are usually only achieved by experienced men and women, though technically you could earn the status at any age, me being a prime example of such events. Then there are the Regius Cruor which means Royal Blood, they are the kings and queens of our society, for they are the direct descendents of the five, you could trace their family line back to one of them with no breaks. Done!"

"I don't suppose there is any chance of you offering to let me read your mind to prove what you say is true."

Del sighed shaking her head, "No and I'm sure you can relate, there are things that no one can know, things that if you found out Id be forced to kill you."

"If what you say is true then you'd be a lot more powerful then me," he mused.

Del laughed, "You wouldn't stand a chance."

She reached out her had to him slowly, giving him a chance to pull away if he wanted to. He did not, so she rested her finger tips on the back of his hand briefly before pulling away.

Akkarin grimaced, "you'd certainly have the power advantage, is all that natural?"

"Of course, we only take power during times of war or if we are failing in a serious fight, we unlike others do not abuse that skill."

Akkarin turned to look at me, "You knew all this already?"

"Yes," I replied looking down, picking at a dried patch of dirt on my cloak which rested on my lap.

Though I could not see his face his voice was confused, "how did I not see what you knew when I read your mind?"

I looked up, "I did not want you to see."

"I wonder what other secrets you keep locked up in that mind of yours, "he said to no one in particular.

"I don't tell my secrets you don't tell yours, "I reminded him.

"But the thing is would finding out your secrets be worth more then keeping mine?"

I chose not to answer that question and Del for once didn't say anything either.

"You say your old friends, how did you met?" said Akkarin, changing the subject and dispelling the tense atmosphere.

"Can I tell, please, please, please," Del exclaimed excitedly.

I laughed, "Kay, I probably would not be able to explain without you interrupting every five seconds anyway."

Del shrugged, "true."

"Well when I and Sonea meet Id just turned seven so Sonea must have been five or four."

"Five, but only by a couple of days."

Del nodded, "yes, five that was it. Anyway my Grandfather had business to attend to here in Kyralia and decided that the trip would be a wonderful way for me to start to learn the workings of all the different countries, as well as the ways of the people within them. I thought it would be all one big exciting game, instead I ended up stuck in some boring old classroom listening to mind numbing lectures about things I had already learnt. So no one could blame me when I snuck out while the professors back was turned, it was a bit more difficult finding a way past the guards, but when I set my mind on something I don't let anyone or anything get in my way.

So it did not take me long to make my way out into the city, I'd never been allowed out on my own before, it was exhilarating. I walked around the market place for awhile but became slightly paranoid that one of my guards would find me or that the people would see that I didn't belong. Id moved into the less busy part of the slums, where the people lived, when a group of children around my age ran past me screaming and laughing playfully. It looked like fun, I was never allowed to play like they were, I wanted to join in, and so I followed them. It didn't take long to catch up to one of the younger girls who had fallen behind, legs to short to be able to keep up with the rest of the group. We started talking and I found out her name was Sonea, unfortunately the group came back soon after wondering where Sonea had got to, they wisely didn't trust me and dragged Sonea away with them, but not before she arranged to meet me in that spot again.

As I expected the guards were not pleased when they finally picked me up, my protection was tripled under order of my Grandfather to stop another one of my adventures from happening. It took me three days before I was able to sneak away again and by then I was worried that the girl I had meet had forgotten all about me. This thought was proven wrong, at the same time and the same place where I had met the Sonea for the first time she was waiting for me. For the next couple of the weeks I continued to slip away from my guards grasp to spend time with Sonea and eventually the gang she hanged around with. My Grandfather became more and more annoyed as every time they finally thought they had managed to get me on lock down, I would find another way to get around them. The punishments I was threatened with did not bother me for I was at last able to act my age.

One day while I was talking with Sonea my guards came and took the two of us back to my Grandfather's house. I was frightened for my new close friend and the fright only grew when they took Sonea into The Room, hardly anyone ever came out alive when they went in there. So you can imagine my surprise when after several hours Sonea came out perfectly find and my Grandfather was actually smiling. Something he'd seen in her must have changed my Grandfathers thoughts on killing her, luckily, and things just evolved from there. Instead of me causing totally mayhem by disappearing every day it was arranged for time to be set aside each day where I was allowed to go and visit Sonea and the gang."

"See, nothing abnormal, just two normal people meeting and becoming friends," I smiled at Akkarin.

"Not entirely normal," he paused turning to Del, "if your grandfather considered killing Sonea then is there any chance that another member of the Primoris Cruor could decide to have her killed."

"They would have to be mad to try, I've made it quite clear that if anyone trys to hurt Sonea then I will personally kill them." said Del.

Akkarin's eyes widened slightly.

"Don't look so shocked, unlike you we do not have little punishments, people rarely commit a crime but when they do it is usually serious, so it has become natural to deal out serious punishments. Not that I would ever let it get to that stage for there to be a need for a punishment."

"What about me? Is anyone going to try to kill me now that I know?"

"Not unless you endanger us," Del said, trying to sound reassuring.

"Are we done now, have you found out all you want to know," Del asked.

"I have found out enough for now, are you expected somewhere?"

Del grimaced, "it's getting dark and as much as I hate paper work it still has to be done."

Akkarin's lips quirked slightly, "Paperwork?"

"Unfortunately, I guess you are going to want to stick a couple of your thief's men on me to make sure I don't decide to massacre the cities inhabitants?"

"That was one of my ideas, but judging by what you have told me it would not take much for you to evade them if you wished."

"Couldn't you just trust me?" Del asked, but the look on Akkarin's face was an obvious no.

"Okay, how about I let the people tail me and if any mysterious murders happen while I'm gone and there is no Ichani then I'm guilty, but if nothing happens then Im innocent. At least until you come up with something more sufficient or you trust me."

Akkarin stared at Del for a while and Del started openly back hiding nothing.

"That seems reasonable for now; can you stay in here until someone comes to escort you out?"

"Sure," Del said, beaming happily.

Akkarin stood, smoothing out his robes, "Sonea" he called making his way over to the door.

I hopped quickly out of my chair, stopping briefly to give Del a hug and exchange goodbyes. Akkarin waited until I was in front of him before leading me out into the corridor where Cery was leaning against one of the walls, the sound of the door shutting barely audible behind us. Cery's face was grim but he still smiled reassuringly when he saw me, Akkarin moved over to Cery their swift conversation so quiet it was a mere murmur to my ears. I waited patiently until Akkarin came back and led me into the depths of the thieves' tunnels, just content in knowing that the meeting between Del and Akkarin had not been as destructive as I thought it would be.


End file.
